Week 18 – The cave of wonders..

Once upon a time, there was a princess born in a loving family. She lived in a palace in the heart of Navan and, throughout her childhood, was blessed with love, a beautiful sister and every luxury a girl could hope for. She grew up and as she did, she quickly came to realize that life is no fairy tale… Life is beautiful of course but it is filled with lots of “obstacles”. Now that this princess is all grown-up, she can choose to wait for a handsome prince to save her but why do that when the best option is to save herself?! The end!

The moral of my little story here is that at some point in life, it’s really important to acknowledge that the most important person in your life is YOU! I don’t mean this in an egocentric way but rather in the way that you are making a clear and conscious effort to treat yourself with the respect and dignity you would someone you care about! Too many of us tend to put our effort, time and focus on work, activities or people in our lives, not even bothering to ask ourselves if our basic needs are met. As a general rule, try.. I mean make sure to set time aside for yourself during the week. Here are a few simple things we should all integrate into our lives to increase our well-being:

– Take your lunch break: walk outside, play a sport or read a book;

– Get enough sleep (a lot of us struggle with this one): try to go to bed early enough to reach 7 or 8 hours of rest;

– Take time to relax: take a bubble bath (that includes you boys ;)), play a video game, watch Netflix, etc.

What I am trying to say here is listen to yourself and make decisions not by obligation but rather based on your current needs. Instead of attending the Tim Horton’s Ottawa Dragon Boat Festival which sounded really fun, I took a step back and opted for this instead:

Week #18 Challenge – part 1: Treat yourself to me time!

I followed my own advice and slowed down! I didn’t go out, left the online dating world and refocused my life on me. Which means I took the time to meal prep, tanned in my yard, went to bed early “enough” and started a new workout routine at Movati! This was my first visit at that gym and I loved it. How do I feel now? Pretty marvelous! Recharging your batteries is not something you should feel guilty about, to the contrary, it should become one of your priorities since it will affect everyone around you in a positive light!

Now, here is the really cool part guys. Throughout our lives we all meet individuals who treat us like royalty. Lately, I have been spoiled with this royal treatment and this last weekend was NO exception. I was picked up and brought to…

Wait, where are we going? No clue! All I was informed was that I needed a bathing suit. After an hour or so on the road we reach a cottage area and we start walking and walking… Still absolutely oblivious as to where we are headed and after a 30 minute walk we reach a fence with a hole in it! Ha ha… Is this it? You may think that was the big surprise but no. We pass through the fence, enter a cave and start walking down.. It’s a steep and rocky and fairly dangerous walk but as we go down: Wow!!! The view is amazing!

This gorgeous site is not in Ottawa but it’s not very far away! If you want a breathtaking view this is a must see. You can visit inside the mine by walking down until you reach the water. The water is clear and turquoise and refreshingly FREEZING cold.. Nobody was swimming of course but one or two people had floats and were just enjoying the scenery on the water.

You can also make your way on top of the mine and view the water from high above. If you are afraid of heights, it may not be the place for you to visit. We just spent hours looking down and soaking in the sun. While at the top someone brought an impressive Drone and flew it into the cave. It was fun to watch! On your way to the mine and back, you will see a little beach area and this may be a good place for you to stop and swim. It was getting a bit late but with the heat we decided to just go for it and jumped in. Best decision we made, it felt like heaven!

Keep in mind: if you choose to visit this site, make sure to be respectful of your surroundings. Many people own cottages and it would not be fair to them to disrupt the vicinity with either pollution or excessive noise or commotion. By doing so it will grant others the opportunity to explore this mysterious cave of wonders…

Hey Is!! Always looking forward to reading your blog. If I may make a suggestion, the opening paragraph could end with “A new beginning” for the princess instead of “The end”. With regards to the moral of the story…well I think that you’re dead on. Of course, we could add to the list….but it’s a great start (damn…never enough sleep…for sure)! Enjoyed reading about tuhe Wallingford-Back Mine. Never even knew that it existed. What are your plans on Canada Day? Want to come for a BBQ? Bring a friend if you like. 🙂

Aww merci Dad! I love your ending version…It is much more applicable and positive 🙂 Bring on the new adventures for this princess! I am still waiting on that tiara you know, I was young but I didn’t forget 😛

As for Canada Day, that sounds like so much fun! I made plans but will see if I can do them after the BBQ! Will be in touch xo